Pawlenty courts Iowa religious right, The 700 Club

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is bolstering his religious right credentials in advance of his presumed run for president in 2012. On Friday night, Pawlenty headlined a fundraiser for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, an offshoot of the Christian Coalition. On Tuesday, Pawlenty will be interviewed by David Brody, a correspondent of Pat Robertson’s 700 Club.

Pawlenty told the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition (IFFC) about his plans for faith in government, according to Iowa Politics. Of the Declaration of Independence, he said, “It doesn’t say we’re endowed by our state legislator, it doesn’t say we’re endowed by our member of Congress, it says we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights … and so we know that these are blessings, these are grants from not Congress or from the government, but from our creator.”

He also said that candidates who have “their moral compass set correctly” should be the ones in elected office.

The IFFC was formerly known as the Iowa Christian Alliance, a state chapter in the Christian Coalition under Ralph Reed. The Christian Coalition was founded by Pat Robertson, a leading religious right figure and best known for his religious news show, The 700 Club.

Pawlenty and his wife Mary will get the 700 Club treatment this fall. David Brody, a correspondent for the show will be in Minneapolis on Tuesday to film an interview with the Pawlentys that will air “sometime after the midterm elections.” Brody says that while some clips will appear on his blog on Wednesday.